VLOG 1: A day trip to Koyasan (Mount Koya, Okunoin Temple, Japan) 高野山

Mount Koya, or Koyasan, is one of religious centers of Japan and UNESCO World Heritage site located in a beautiful old forest.

Hello and welcome to my channel! This is my second YouTube video and first ever vlog. On this channel I would like to share my passion for travel, photography and East Asian countries, starting from Japan. This channel will be heavily nature-oriented although not limited to it. I would like to welcome you to follow me on my journey.

Before we get to my Japan travel blog lets me introduce myself. My name is Roman Sudarikov. I was born in Estonia. At the age of eleven I moved to Finland, where I have spent more than 20 years of my life. Currently I am staying in Kyoto, Japan. I feel that this place has everything I need. It has a feeling of a small little town surrounded by nature and full of history, but at the same time it provides everything that you would expect from a big city. It is full of contradictions which I find very fascinating. I like Kyoto a lot and wanted to spend here a bit longer period of time, so in the beginning of this year I decided to make my move. More information about me can be found on my website https://www.romansudarikov.com/about/

In my very first vlog I visit Mount Koya or Koyasan (高野山) on a day trip from Kyoto. Koyasan is a small town with over one hundred temples situated in the northern part of Wakayama Prefecture. It is located on an 800-meters high basin surrounded by eight mountain peaks. Landform's resemblance to a lotus flower is said to have been the main reason for choosing the place. Koyasan is the religious center of Shingon Buddhism and one of Japan’s most sacred sites. The Shingon sect was established in 816 by the monk Kukai (774–835), also known as Kobo Daishi. He is believed not to be dead, but only resting there in eternal meditation awaiting the return of the Buddha in his mausoleum at Okunoin Temple. Okunoin's cemetery is largest in Japan with over 200000 tombstones and the most representative place of all Mount Koya. This is where the most of Koyasan online pictures you see come from and also where we spent most of our day trip. The other places we visited on that day are Kongobuji Temple and Danjo Garan Temple. Kongobuji is the head temple of Shingon Buddhism and Danjo Garan on the other hand is a main temple complex of Koyasan.

A day trip to Koyasan is a very feasible option if you are staying in Kyoto, although staying overnight at one of the temples would make even better experience. It was great fun filming and editing this video. I also learned a lot in process. Thank you very much for watching! If you liked the video, please consider subscribing because more content is on the way! You can find me also on:
Website: https://www.romansudarikov.com/
Instagram:   / romansudarikov  
Twitter:   / romansudarikov  

Music by Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com)

Gear used:
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
Canon EF 16-35 f/4L IS USM
Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG Art
Zhiyun Crane 2 gimbal
Sirui W-2204 tripod with Sirui K-30X ball head
RØDE Stereo VideoMic X
Hoya ProND8 neutral-density filter
Lowepro Whistler BP 450 AW backpack